Bruins give Scates 899th win, on lookout for 900

Thursday, February 13, 1997

M. VOLLEYBALL:

Team defeats LMU, hopes to continue trend in MalibuBy Jennifer
Kollenborn

Daily Bruin Contributor

Getting back to their winning ways, the No. 3 UCLA Bruins
extended their win streak against Loyola Marymount on Tuesday
night.

UCLA (5-2, 4-1) spanked the Lions 15-8, 15-7, 14-16, 15-5 to
give Bruins’ coach Al Scates his 899th win.

"I think we’re improving every match," sophomore Fred Robins
said. "Our (win) proved we have the ability to step up and take
initiative."

In Game 1 against the Lions (2-4, 1-3), the Bruins started off
down 0-3, but quickly gained momentum with Robins’ serve. Both Paul
Nihipali and Tom Stillwell came in strong with two blocks in a row
to tie the game at three. And when LMU started to make hitting
errors, UCLA quickly moved to an 8-4 lead. Brandon Taliaferro’s
winning serve finished the game at 15-8.

The Bruins fell behind again in the beginning of Game 2, but
Adam Naeve’s kill sparked another UCLA run. Nihipali and Stillwell
teamed up with two blocks at 8-3 which edged the Bruins towards the
win. Stillwell came through with a service ace to win the game.

The tide turned in favor of the Lions in Game 3 as LMU dominated
the net. At 5-2 LMU’s William Priddy came in strong with a block
and two kills. UCLA took back the lead at 8-6 with Stillwell’s
block, but soon slipped behind when LMU’s Corin Bemus hammered two
kills. The Lions did not back down, with Priddy at the net spiking
one for the final point at 16-14.

In the finale the Bruins’ consistent blocking paved the way to
victory. Nihipali came in with a block at 6-5, which he followed up
with a kill to put the Bruins in the lead. Naeve and Nihipali’s
block gave the Bruins game point seconds before Nihipali drilled
one to win the match.

"In the fourth game, we said enough nonsense," junior Tom
Stillwell said. "We came out strong and proved we wanted to
win.

As usual, Nihipali led the attack with 21 kills followed by
Stillwell with 17 kills. Naeve led the blocking with 10 while
Stillwell had 6.

"We are not at the level we need to be at," Scates said after
the game. "We need to keep getting better. In the last game of the
match, we restored order."

The Bruins hope their win over LMU will set them on pace to
defeat Pepperdine tonight in Malibu. The Bruins lead the Pepperdine
series 58-14 but lost to Pepperdine at the UCSB classic in
January.

UCLA def. LMU 15-8, 15-7, 14-16, 15-5